Community gardening

January 2023

Community gardens are popping up across the country. These gardens provide fresh produce for residents and visitors alike.

A community garden is an area where several individuals or groups cultivate a plot of land together. Usually, in community gardens, the ground is divided up into individual plots. Each individual gardener has responsibility for his/her own plot, and the yield from that plot belongs to him/her.

But in, collective gardens don't divide up the space into individual plots. A group of farmers grows it together, and the crop belongs to everyone involved. Community gardening exists in different forms around the world, including in the proximity of neighborhoods, on balconies, and on rooftops. It varies in size from one to another.

Community gardens offer an opportunity for neighbors to grow food together. They also give back to the community by providing fresh vegetables for low-income families and seniors.

In addition to growing food, community gardens also teach children valuable lessons about nutrition and health. Children learn about plants, soil, and water conservation. They also learn about teamwork and cooperation.

Community gardens are a win-win situation for everyone involved. If you live near one, you can often visit to pick fresh fruits and veggies. If you don't live near one, you'll still benefit from the fresh produce grown in these gardens.

Recently, community gardens have experienced a global resurgence.

This may be related to environmental issues facing the world today, including ecological crises, global warming, and so forth.

Urban agriculture movements are contributed by Community gardening, and requests for more community garden spaces has raised in recent times.

Types of community gardens

There are different types of community gardens.

Neighborhood gardens are the most common kind, where a small number of people get together to grow fruit, vegetable, and ornamental plant crops. They are identifiable as pieces of private or public land where individual plots are rented out by gardeners for a month or year at a time.
A residential garden is usually shared by residents in an assisted care facility, affordable housing units, and apartments. These gardens are maintained by people who live on the premises.
Institutional gardens are attached to either public institutions or private organizations and provide numerous benefits for their residents. Some benefits include mental or physical rehabilitation, therapy, and job-placing skills training.
Demonstration gardens are used for both educational and recreational purposes. They often offer short workshops or talks about gardening and provide the necessary equipment for operating a community garden.

Benefits of having a Community Garden

1. Make the landscape beautiful

Many urban neighborhoods contain vacant land that has been left unused for years.

A community garden beautifies such vacant spaces. Vacant lots don't just disappear; they also raise property values.

2. Access to Fresh Produce

It can be difficult to get fresh fruit and vegetables in urban neighborhoods. People don't tend to consume healthy and nutritious foods because they're just too expensive and time-intensive to obtain them. However, when there are community gardens in neighborhoods, studies have shown that people tend to eat more fresh and healthy fruit and vegetable.

3. Promoting Healthy living

Fresh fruit and vegetable consumption has increased because people have more ready access. Community gardens encourage people to get out into nature and enjoy fresh air and sunshine. Spending time outside helps prevent people from becoming too sedentary, which is one of the main causes of overweight and obese individuals.

4. Clean surroundings

Community gardeners also tend to be good at composting, which reduces their overall waste because things like tree trimmings, litter, and kitchen waste can be used to create fertilizers.

5. Build Stronger Communities

Community gardens allow people to get together and interact on a one-to-one basis. Those people who would usually be stuck inside their homes, leading a lonely existence, are now able to come outside and socialize with others.

6. Provides Opportunities to Learn

Community gardens offer educational opportunities for children and adults alike. They're a wonderful place for people from different cultures, religions, and backgrounds to meet each other. Furthermore, gardening together could be a great way to talk about environmental issues and how to lead a healthy lifestyle.

7. Gardening helps relieve stress

Life today is stressful. Most people rush through life without stopping to think about why they're doing what they're doing. Gardening is an opportunity to slow down, connect to the natural world, and cultivate meaningful relationships with others.

Community gardening